Hadarac Desert
The Hadarac Desert was a large desert in central Alagaësia. It was the only known desert on the continent. General The Broddring Empire effectively ended at the Hadarac Desert, which filled the heart of Alagaësia. Prior to the Dragon Riders, Wild Dragons stored their Eldunarí in Du Fells Nángoröth, the mountains in the center of the Hadarac Desert. Without the Dragon Riders, it was simply too difficult to maintain a government over that vast tract of desolate earth. The Hadarac Desert was one of the few things that prevented the king from expanding his Empire to include all of eastern Alagaësia. The Hadarac Desert was the ancestral land of the dragons. At the time of the Rider War, roaming slavers and bandits preyed on travelers in the area. Events Pre-Rider War Dwarves originally came into being in the Hadarac. Once it became uninhabitable, the dwarves moved to the Beor Mountains. It is also the ancestral home of the dragons. It used to be a grassland before it became a desert. During the Rider War Saphira, Eragon and Murtagh traveled through the Hadarac while being chased by some Kull. While they were being chased, they encountered a group of slavers. During this encounter, Murtagh slew the leader of the bandits in cold blood, which deeply disturbed Eragon. It was at this point that the two good friends had their first conflict as they searched for the Varden. Residents The Hadarac Desert was sparsely populated. Most of its inhabitants were humans of tribal societies, though there were some Urgal tribes as well. Some human tribes wore long robes and wielded deadly spears. The nomads had dark skin: Ajihad and Nasuada came from the Hadarac Desert. Some saw their customs as strange and/or barbaric, such as the Trial of the Long Knives, with which Sagabato-no Inapashunna Fadawar challenged Nasuada for control of the Varden. The nomads that lived in the Hadarac were ebony skinned, exotic compared to the rest of the humans. They disguised their wells so well no outsider would be able to locate them. They also raised goats, a type of cameloid similar to the dromedary camel, and the desert horse, with white horses being valued. They usually chose shaded, rocky outcrops to erect their goat hair tents and pens for their livestock. They traveled on horseback while camels were used to carry their belongings and the women. The nomads were skilled in making jewellery and craftsmanship and were very rich. Weather Punishing weather made it almost impossible for inexperienced travelers to survive in the Hadarac. The land was scorching hot in the mornings and cold at night. The desert had many sand dunes and very sparse vegetation. Sand storms often raged across the area. Eragon and his companions survived by using magic to draw water from underground to the surface of a hole dug by Saphira. Connections *The name may be derived from Kwisatz Haderach, a term from the science fiction novel Dune, which takes place on a desert planet. *The name is may also derive from Harad, a Mannish kingdom in the south of the world of Middle-earth. fr:Désert du Hadarac de:Hadarac-Wüste es:Desierto de Hadarac pl:Pustynia Hadaracka ru:Хадарак Category:Places